The 60,000-plus fans in the stands tonight (Oct. 22) wont be the only ones cheering on the Mountaineers against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Theyll be getting a little help from the men and women of the 111th engineering group of the West Virginia National Guard based in St. Albans and currently stationed in Kuwait.

An e-mail from Maj. Ron Garton reminded University officials that members of the 111th were called into national service March 15 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They arrived at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in mid-May and are responsible for the command and control of combat engineering units operating out of Kuwait.

According to Garton, several members recorded special video messages to cheer on the Mountaineers during upcoming games with arch rivals Virginia Tech and the University of Pittsburgh. The messages were sent from Kuwait to WVU s Television Productions unit for playback on Mountaineer Fields video scoreboard.

ThePride of West Virginia, WVU ’s Mountaineer Marching Band, also plans a patriotic tribute during halftime of Wednesday nights nationally televised game.

The band will pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and are presently serving in the armed forces by performing Lee Greenwoods song,God Bless the USA .The audience will be asked to sing along as the band performs; the words will be projected on the video scoreboard.

As part of the tribute, the band will unveil the Universitys new 60-by-120-foot American flag, which will serve as the bands backdrop toward the end of the song. WVU alumnus Stuart Robbins and his wife, Joyce, donated the money for the flag. Robbins, a Parkersburg native, is a 1965 Arts and Sciences graduate and vice chairman of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors.

The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in cooperation with United Bank is organizing a spectacular fireworks display to conclude the special halftime presentation.